In the manufacturing of integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices, the circuits and devices must be tested in order to ensure that a functional device has been manufactured. These tests are usually performed by contacting a test probe card to the relevant areas of the semiconductor device, sending current to the semiconductor device and performing one or more functional tests.
A probe card typically includes a printed circuit board (PCB), substrates to redistribute contact areas, and a cobra needle head. A tester is usually coupled to the PCB to send electrical signals through the PCB to a semiconductor device that is being tested. The PCB may contact the semiconductor device through the substrate and cobra needle head. The substrate may redistribute contacts on the PCB that may have a large contact area and pitch to contacts on the cobra needle head that may be smaller in contact area and pitch, which may also be similar to the semiconductor device. The cobra needle head may then contact a semiconductor device on a wafer to undergo testing.
To attach and electrically couple the substrate to the PCB, generally, a reflow soldering process is used. However, this process generally has the disadvantageous feature that the PCB and substrate are heated in order to solder the components. The high heat level may cause damage to either component or other components on the PCB. Further, testing on the assembly may require that the assembly be subsequently processed through a reflow oven if contacts are shorted or if contacts are not properly coupled, such as an open circuit. Multiple reflow processes may cause additional problems, such as electrode pads peeling from a substrate or warpage of the substrate. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to couple a substrate to a PCB in a probe card without using a reflow soldering process and to avoid warpage of the substrate.